Edgecombe born British North America, emigration to New Zealand

[Suz in NZ]

Alice Edgecombe/Edgecumbe

Am searching for the birth and parents of Alice Edgecombe, born approx 1885 in British North America. She came to New Zealand sometime between her birth and 1892, as I have info of her being in NZ in 1892 as a 7 yr old, but no record of parents for her.

Does anyone have access for a lookup of her birth please.
Also a lookup for shipping records from Canada to NZ between 1884 and 1892.

Or advice on where I can look for this info??

Many thanks,
Suzanne.

[waiteohman]

Hello Suzanne

I suspect the place of birth to be Newfoundland as at the time of her birth it was known as British North America; whereas, the other Canadian provinces had joined the Dominion of Canada before 1874.

On July 1, 1867, an Act of the British Parliament called the British North America Act formed the Dominion of Canada from the Province of Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. The former Province of Canada was split back into its pre-1841 parts, with Canada East becoming Quebec, and Canada West becoming Ontario. In 1870, Manitoba joined with Canada; British Columbia joined in 1871 and Prince Edward Island in 1873. In 1949, the sole remaining British North American colony, Newfoundland, joined Canada.

You can browse the images for Newfoundland births on the familysearch.org website:
NFLD Vital Records 1840-1949
http://www.rootschat.com/links/0d2n/
NFLD Vital Statistics 1753-1893
http://www.rootschat.com/links/0d2o/

I did find Edgecombe in the marriages in NFLD Shoe Bay area; however, the site mentions fire and some church records not surviving; hopefully you will find a birth in the vital statistic links above.
http://rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cannf/wbbv_parrec_tiltcove_mar_1869.htm

Good luck with your search,
Linda

[Suz in NZ]

Thanks so much Linda, I appreciate your reply. I had been wondering where exactly British North America was, but hadn't got around to looking it up yet. This is my first ever post on RootsChat.

I've had quite a good look around those Family Search links, but not found anything that looks like my Edgecombes, as yet. However I found loads of collections on there that I never knew existed, even though I use the site regularly!! Most of my research is UK based. So, an extra thanks for pointing me that direction.

Will continue my Edgecombe searching.


All the best,
Suzanne.

[waiteohman]

Your very welcome Suzanne. I hadn't noticed it was your first post when I answered. Welcome to Rootschat.
Linda

[amazon510]

I have never heard Newfoundland referred to as British North America, to me it would refer to mainland Canada.  That said there are Edgecombe's in Newfoundland.  According to Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland, they are found in the Little Catalina/Port Union area and Ochre Pit Cove (Conception Bay North).

There are vital statistics for Newfoundland on line at Family Search.  They are official 1930s copies of original parish records, so they are sorted by parish and religious denomination. 

https://www.familysearch.org/search/image/show#uri=https%3A//api.familysearch.org/records/collection/1793777/waypoints 

I had a quick look at 1885 for Catalina and didn't see an Alice but there were several families of Edgecombes in the Methodist records so it might be the right neck of the woods.  Try some more of the Trinity parishes (Catalina is under Trinity North), and maybe Bonavista.  For the Ochre Pit Cove area, check Carbonear and Bay de Verde (especially Old Perlican), and possibly Salmon Cove (under Port de Grave).

Good luck.

Jennifer.

[cosmac]

There is reference in New Zealand Papers Past of Mabel and Alice Edgecumbe (10 & 7) found in a horrible foster care situation.  Is this your Alice and if so have you had any luck in tracing Mabel in order to see if records exist for her?  If not your relative does Alice have any siblings?

Debbie

[Suz in NZ]

Hi Debbie,

Yes, I had found the Edgecombe girls on Papers Past just a few days ago - a very sad story. Because of the age match with my Alice, and other info I've been given that ties in, I'm assuming this is my Alice. I didn't know my Alice had a sister, as I know nothing of her birth or parents.

Since finding that article another relative has discovered a Mabel Edgecombe, who married a Hubert Johns in Manaia, Taranaki, NZ in 1903.  She found this through info on someone's tree, and it says that Mabel was b.1882 in British North America. This birthdate also ties in with the Mabel's age of 10 yrs old in 1892, in the newspaper article. No other info on the tree about her prior to her marriage.

My father has told me that Alice's daughter (who was my Dad's cousin) always said her mother was American, so, along with the Papers Past article, and Mabel who married here in NZ, we feel quite sure that the Alice we're looking for is the sister of this Mabel.

Now, it's just a matter of finding them in this British North America place, and the shipping records for their trip to NZ, sometime between 1885 and 1892. And of, course, what happened to the parents of these two girls.

Thanks so much for taking the time to look into this.

Cheers,
Suzanne.

[Suz in NZ]

Hi Jennifer,

Thanks for that link and your advice on place names - I'm not at all familiar with research in Canada or US, nor with place names.

I've spent quite a lot of time looking through those various records, but unfortunately haven't come up with anything for Alice or Mabel Edgecombe yet. There's a lot to look through so I'll look some more tomorrow. Think I'll need to broaden my search too, to other parts of Canada and even the States.

So, if there's anyone out there that can give some tips on where to look, aside from the IGI, I'd really appreciate it.

Cheers,
Suzanne.

[Jacquie in Canada]

Has anyone purchased Alice or Mabel's marriage registration to see if parents' names are listed?

Jacquie